Read channels, send messages, search history, and catch up on what you missed. Built to be AI-agent friendly, so your scripts and assistants can use Slack too. No Slack app to build, no admin approval to wait for.
Quickstart · What it does · Commands · Docs · Contributing
⭐ Like the idea? Star the repo.
It takes two seconds, and it is how the next person finds SlackCLI.
Sign in, browse conversations, search the workspace, read a thread from a permalink,
reply, react, read a canvas as Markdown, and pipe --json into jq — all from the terminal.
slackcli-demo.mp4
Important
Unofficial project. SlackCLI is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Slack Technologies. Slack ships an official CLI for building Slack apps — this is a different tool, for driving a workspace you already belong to.
Three steps, about a minute.
1. Install — pick your platform
Homebrew (macOS & Linux) — recommended
brew tap shaharia-lab/tap
brew install slackcliLinux — direct binary
# x86_64
curl -L https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli/releases/latest/download/slackcli-linux -o slackcli
# arm64
curl -L https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli/releases/latest/download/slackcli-linux-arm64 -o slackcli
chmod +x slackcli && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && mv slackcli ~/.local/bin/macOS — direct binary
# Intel
curl -L https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli/releases/latest/download/slackcli-macos -o slackcli
# Apple Silicon
curl -L https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli/releases/latest/download/slackcli-macos-arm64 -o slackcli
chmod +x slackcli && mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && mv slackcli ~/.local/bin/Windows
Download slackcli-windows.exe from the latest release
and put it somewhere on your PATH.
From source (Bun)
git clone https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli.git
cd slackcli
bun install
bun run build # -> ./dist/slackcliEvery release ships checksums.txt — verify your download if you care to, and you should.
Full details in the installation guide.
2. Sign in — one command, no Slack app required
slackcli auth login-autoA browser opens, you sign into Slack as you normally would, and SlackCLI captures the session tokens for every workspace on that account. Nothing leaves your machine.
Prefer a real Slack app token, or need a service account? There are three other ways — see authentication below.
3. Do something useful
slackcli conversations unread # what did I miss?
slackcli search messages "deploy failed" --in=engineering
slackcli messages send --permalink="$LINK" --message="On it 👀"Tip
Anywhere SlackCLI wants a channel ID or a timestamp, you can paste a Slack link instead. Copy a permalink out of the Slack app and hand it straight to the CLI — see links & timestamps.
| I want to… | Try this | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| See what I missed | slackcli conversations unread |
conversations |
| Read a channel or a thread | slackcli conversations read C123 --limit=50 |
conversations |
| Send, reply, edit, or react | slackcli messages send --permalink="$LINK" --message="…" |
messages |
| Search the workspace | slackcli search messages "release notes" |
search |
| Find a channel or a person | slackcli search people "ada" |
search |
| Work through "saved for later" | slackcli saved list --state=to_do |
saved items |
| Read a Canvas as Markdown | slackcli canvas read F123 |
canvas |
| Upload a file with a message | slackcli messages send --file=./report.pdf … |
messages |
| Post rich Block Kit content | slackcli messages send --blocks=@blocks.json … |
messages |
| Script it / feed an AI agent | … --json | jq |
scripting & JSON |
| Juggle several workspaces | slackcli conversations list --workspace=automation-bot |
workspaces |
| Fix something that broke | slackcli auth list |
troubleshooting |
Every command that returns data speaks --json, so SlackCLI drops straight into shell
pipelines, cron jobs, CI steps, and AI agent toolchains.
# Who is talking about the outage, and when?
slackcli search messages "outage" --in=incidents --json \
| jq -r '.matches[] | "\(.username)\t\(.text)"'
# Turn today's unreads into a digest
slackcli conversations unread --json | jq '[.unread_channels[] | {name, unread_count}]'
# Read a thread, summarise it elsewhere, reply with the result
slackcli conversations read --permalink="$LINK" --json | jq '.messages[].text'No Slack app, no OAuth dance, no webhook server — just a binary and a token. Patterns, exit codes, and pagination are in scripting & JSON output.
SlackCLI talks to Slack either as a Slack app (xoxb-* / xoxp-*) or as a
signed-in browser session (xoxd-* + xoxc-*). One SlackClient abstracts both.
flowchart LR
A["Any slackcli command"] --> B{"Workspace<br/>auth type"}
B -->|standard| C["@slack/web-api<br/>xoxb / xoxp"]
B -->|browser| D["fetch + session headers<br/>xoxd + xoxc"]
C --> E(("Slack API"))
D --> E
Four ways to sign in — and which one to pick
| Method | Command | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic browser login | slackcli auth login-auto |
Almost everyone. Sign in once, all workspaces enrolled. |
| Slack app token | slackcli auth login --token=xoxb-… --workspace-name="My Team" |
Bots, CI, service accounts, long-lived automation. |
| Parse a DevTools cURL | slackcli auth parse-curl --login |
Locked-down browsers, or when you already copied the request. |
| Browser tokens by hand | slackcli auth login-browser --xoxd=… --xoxc=… --workspace-url=… |
Full control, or scripted provisioning. |
Browser session tokens can create drafts, which a Slack app simply cannot do, and
they back saved list and conversations unread with Slack's own native endpoints
rather than approximations. Slack app tokens are more stable and survive a browser logout.
slackcli auth extract-tokens prints the manual walkthrough.
The security model, the OAuth scopes each command needs, and what login-auto does with
your browser profile are all in the authentication guide.
Where credentials live
Configuration lives in ~/.config/slackcli/ (directory mode 0700):
| File | Contents |
|---|---|
workspaces.json |
Workspace credentials (mode 0600) |
update-check.json |
Cached update check, refreshed at most daily |
browser-profile/ |
The browser profile used by auth login-auto |
workspaces.json and browser-profile/ both hold live credentials — do not commit,
sync, or share them. slackcli auth logout clears both.
Seven command groups. slackcli <group> --help always prints the authoritative options
for the version you have installed.
auth — sign in, manage workspaces
| Command | Does |
|---|---|
auth login-auto |
Sign in through a browser; captures tokens automatically |
auth login |
Sign in with a standard Slack app token (xoxb-* / xoxp-*) |
auth login-browser |
Sign in with browser session tokens (xoxd-* + xoxc-*) |
auth parse-curl |
Extract tokens from a cURL command copied out of DevTools |
auth extract-tokens |
Print the manual token-extraction guide |
auth list |
List authenticated workspaces |
auth set-default <workspace> |
Choose the default workspace |
auth remove <workspace> |
Remove one workspace |
auth logout |
Remove all workspaces and the stored browser profile |
conversations — channels, DMs, threads, unreads
slackcli conversations list --types=public_channel
slackcli conversations read C1234567890 --limit=50
slackcli conversations read --permalink="$LINK" # reads that message's thread
slackcli conversations get C1234567890 1234567890.123456
slackcli conversations unreadmessages — send, reply, edit, react, draft
slackcli messages send --recipient-id=C1234567890 --message="Hello team!"
slackcli messages send --permalink="$LINK" --message="On it" # replies in-thread
slackcli messages send --recipient-id=C123 --file=./report.pdf --message="Latest numbers"
slackcli messages send --recipient-id=C123 --blocks=@blocks.json
slackcli messages react --permalink="$LINK" --emoji=+1
slackcli messages edit --channel-id=C123 --timestamp=1234567890.123456 --message="Corrected"
slackcli messages draft --recipient-id=C123 --message="Draft for later"[!NOTE]
messages draftrequires browser session tokens — Slack apps cannot create drafts.
📄 messages
search — messages, channels, people
slackcli search messages "deploy failed" --in=engineering --from=ada --limit=50
slackcli search channels "incident"
slackcli search people "ada@example.com"📄 search
saved · canvas · update
slackcli saved list --state=to_do # saved | to_do | completed
slackcli canvas list --channel=C1234567890
slackcli canvas read F1234567890 # Canvas -> Markdown
slackcli update check # is there a newer version?
slackcli update # install it📄 saved items · canvas
Made it this far? Then SlackCLI is probably useful to you — and the fastest way to keep it alive is to make it easier for the next person to find.
⭐ Star SlackCLI · 💬 Say hello in Discussions · 🐛 Report something broken
Share it with one person who lives in Slack and in a terminal
In rough order of usefulness:
- ⭐ Star the repo — the single highest-leverage thing.
- 🐛 Open an issue when something breaks or a command feels wrong.
- 💬 Tell one person who lives in Slack and in a terminal.
- ✍️ Write about it — a blog post, a work Slack message, a comment on HN or Reddit.
- 🛠️ Send a PR — see Contributing below.
Star history
Everything lives in docs/.
|
User guide — how to use it |
Developer docs — how to work on it bun install
pre-commit install # same checks CI runs
bun run dev --help # run from source
bun test # 400+ tests
bun run type-check
bun run build # -> ./dist/slackcli |
Contributions are very welcome — and the process here is a little stricter than most repos, on purpose.
Important
Open an issue first, and wait for the ready-for-pr label. That label is how the
maintainer decides which features belong in the CLI, and it locks the feature to your
PR so nobody duplicates your work. A workflow enforces the issue link.
- Open an issue describing WHAT the change is, WHY it is needed, and optionally HOW.
- Wait for triage and the
ready-for-prlabel. - Fork, branch, and open a PR that links the issue (
Closes #123). - Make sure type-check, tests, and pre-commit hooks pass, and that your commits are signed.
Looking for a place to start? Try
good first issue
or help wanted.
The full policy is in CONTRIBUTING.md and CLAUDE.md. Security issues go through SECURITY.md — never a public issue.
MIT — do what you like, no warranty.
Built with Bun · powered by @slack/web-api · inspired by gscli